Site59 is now lastminute.com

A big change in the world of online travel. Travelocity’s Site59 will soon become lastminute.com. Travelocity bought both companies in the past. Site59 was bought in 2002 and lastminute.com in 2005. The rebranded site will feature all of the same content available at Site59, which offers deals on last minute travel.

“Site59 has been one of the travel industry’s best value propositions, but for many people the name is difficult to remember, and usually requires an explanation of what it means – the 59th minute,” said Michelle Peluso, CEO of Travelocity and former CEO of Site59. “The acquisition of lastminute.com in Europe in 2005 gives us the opportunity to apply this much more recognizable name to Site59 here in the US.”

U.S. and E.U. Air Travel Pact = Cheaper Tickets?

An agreement between the U.S. and E.U. may soon allow airlines more flexibility in their trans-Atlantic flight operations. If approved by Congress and E.U. transport ministers later this year, the pact would allow European carriers to fly into U.S. airports from airports outside their own countries. As it now stands, for example, a British airline can only fly into a U.S. airport from a British airport. The change will allow much more competition among airlines, which could lead to increased options for travelers and – we hope – lower ticket fares. If approved, the pact would take effect in October 2007.

U.S. Transportation Department to Review Airline Contingency Plans

As per statement made by the U.S. Department of Transportation, the department will investigate recent incidents that led to airline passengers being stranded aboard planes for hours. The most talked-about incidents involve American Airlines and JetBlue, but other airlines are also guilty of stranding passengers on the tarmac for lengthy time periods. Just last month, I was stuck on a AA for 2 hours before take-off.

Source : Department of Transportation Statement

U.S. Passport Rules Changed for Children

Just in case there are travelers out there who aren’t already slightly confused about the new passport regulations that went into effect late last month, there are some new rules on the horizon that should pretty much guarantee another wave of passport travel confusion. Under the latest set of passport rules, which have not gone into effect yet and may not until next year, children 15 and under could cross U.S. borders on land or on boats with only a birth certificate and parental consent. Children 16 though 18 could do the same if they are traveling with an adult-supervised school, religious, cultural or athletic group (but presumably not just while leisure traveling). To make matters slightly more complicated, all children arriving or departing by airplane will still need to show passports.

The changes are supposed to make the border crossing process easier, especially for families visiting U.S. neighboring countries via car and cruise ships, but can’t you just see customs officials arguing with travelers over the meaning of a “cultural group”? I dunno…

Airlines: Where is Customer Service???

The debacle at JFK last week involving Jet Blue Airlines where some passengers sat for 10 hours inside planes with foul air, overflowing toilets, little food and a lack of information during the Valentine’s Day storm was just the tip of the iceberg.

According to the Stats released from U.S. Department of Transportation, such incidents are very common now a day. Between 2000 and 2006, passengers have been held inside more than 330 airplanes for more than five hours while waiting to take off. This is totally unfair in regard to customer’s experience.

In response, lawmakers in the House and Senate are drafting bills that would create a new “airline passengers’ bill of rights” that, among other things, would require planes delayed on the ground more than three hours to allow passengers to get off, compel airlines to provide passengers with frequent updates about delays and mandate disclosure of information about chronically delayed or cancelled flights.

One bill would also require that airlines provide every passenger with food, safe drinking water, sanitary bathroom facilities and adequate ventilation while the plane is delayed.

Though, against this bill the airline industry has passed a strong oppose message, as if this bill gets passed then the grounded planes would have to return to the terminal after a certain number of hours. Officials say returning a plane to a gate is rarely the simple solution it might seem, because in most cases it means the flight must be cancelled. That’s because airline crews run up against federal limits on how long they can be on duty and planes lose their takeoff slots.

What’s really happening is that when extreme flight delays occur, problems multiply, according to consumer experts, because of the frenzied pace of today’s airline marketplace. Airlines have squeezed out excess capacity so planes are flying with nearly every seat filled, meaning the toilets overflow faster. Few airlines serve meals, meaning there is no food onboard. Customer service has been pared back, meaning fewer agents are available to rebook or assist stranded passengers. There is much less margin for error, and it’s the customer who suffers.

It’s time for Congress to bring airlines back into reality with measures that will make them accountable to the public they are supposed to be serving.